Special Note: The ideas which follow are the ultimate prescription for “working on” your business rather than “working in” your business. Please take note and use these ideas when you need them most — when everything falls apart.

A rep called me last week. He has an outstanding agency with very large commission income. All of a sudden his revenue is down 33 percent.

What are they doing wrong? Nothing! That is a situation that seems unfair, but fair is not the name of the game in the rep business. They are off because of a number of specifics that have combined to impact their revenue big time.

Their largest line is seeing new competition and delays in pending orders. Other lines are flat or down this year. A few customers are not buying anywhere near what they had expected them to.

And, he feels that a couple of his five outside salespeople are not doing the job as well as they should.

It is a “Perfect Storm” — now what?

Sales Is the Name of the Game

The first remedy is the one closest to home. He is concerned about sales performance. The first step is to get with each of his independent reps and get in real depth about their business. What is happening with each significant customer for each significant line?

The definition of significant is vital at this point. There is no point in focusing on minor customers and minor lines. The key to this planning program is to look at the customers that make up 80 percent or more of the salesperson’s territory. Remember, a customer may be big for one line and none of the others. Don’t plan for anything but the largest portion of the territory.

When planning customer-by-customer the salesperson has to be able to discuss the current and prospective sales of each product line and perhaps individual SKUs with each key customer. What is the potential volume with that customer with that line?

How to Increase Volume With Each Customer With Each Line

This is an in-depth planning program to be very specific about getting significantly more business from individual customers. You must explore every possible way to get business from these customers.

Principal Involvement Is Very Beneficial

Getting one or more people involved from your key principals is a very good idea as you begin to attack the individual customers with involved factory personnel. If you have a strong, smart regional manager or sales manager at the factory, sharing your planning with them can be very beneficial. New ideas and new concepts are what you are looking for to stimulate individual customer business.

Look at the Lines

After looking at the customers, turn to the lines. Which lines have the greatest potential to sell much more fairly quickly? What can you think of, no matter how far out or innovative to get more business on a particular line with a particular customer? What weaknesses does the line have that, if fixed, would enable you to get more business, quickly?

Do not let yourself get stopped by saying, “They won’t do it!” — assume that the manufacturer is looking for more business, too. They just might do it, if you can present a very good case for doing what you want. The key is to put together a very good plan for each activity or product or promotion you want to launch.

This opportunity-by-opportunity approach requires very solid thinking, a very sophisticated approach to presenting ideas to manufacturers and a clear knowledge of the manufacturer’s market, finances and personnel. This is selling at a very high level.

Making the Agency an Extension of the Manufacturer in a New Way

The independent rep agency is stepping up to work with the manufacturer in a very new way. Some people at the manufacturer may resent this intrusion into their “space.” Some people may feel that the rep doesn’t know enough to do this type of planning for and with the manufacturer. Some people may close their minds to the rep’s approach all together.

The bottom line is that the rep has to sell the ideas at the highest level of the manufacturer and get the manufacturer’s key managers to look on them in a different way.

This new approach may not work with some of the lines a rep has. The key is to look for the best opportunities and sell, sell, sell.

Change May Take Time

In each situation with each manufacturer it may take more or less time to get action on the new ideas the rep firm is putting out there for the manufacturer to grow their business.

The key is to carefully present the ideas and to have a carefully drawn, well-articulated plan that the manufacturer can analyze, study and react to. The rep must be prepared to spend time and to be flexible.

Therefore, it is key that the ideas are big ideas with major pay-offs. It is not worth going down this road unless the pay-off is large for both the manufacturer and the rep.

Moving to a New Level

The bottom line for both the manufacturer and the rep is increased revenue and profit. Having the rep driving the initial phases of new ideas for the manufacturer may be new, different, foreign, and perhaps unwelcome. But the value of the new approaches has to carry the day.

When you are managing in adversity you have to be prepared to take major risks. The biggest risk of all may be in exposing radical thinking and different ideas to skeptical, hostile or downright negative personnel from the manufacturer. When you are up against it — you have to have guts!

Good luck and good selling!

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].